Electric sign.



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HARVEY DESCHER,

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` ELECTRIC iigllllillil.

I 1 application filed July 3,

To all fwmmi' 'it may concern:

leit known that l, HARVEY Unser-msn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, anda resident et the borough of Manhattan, inv the city, county, and Stateof New York, haie invented certain new and useful improve .ments inElectric Siwhich the ich lowing is spl This invention provides animproved form or electric sign fior use particularly in Window display,the object being to produce a signet attractive appearance and one inwhich theA illumination oi the characters, even when viewed at a veryacute angle to 'their faces, is or such natureA as to render themperfectly distinct.

The object is, further, to provide a sign element or character' ofdurable and conipact construction which includes provisions whereby thedestruction of one or its lamps will not cause the Whole letter to bedarliened, and which is adapted ior convenient assemblage with othercharacters to form a sign Whichobstructs as little as possible the Viewof objects behind it. Y

l'n the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention.: Figure 1 is aperspective View of a sign embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a rearView of one of the characters, the base being sectioned and the llingfor the back channel omitted; Fig. Seis a bottom plan of the base oflligVZ; Fig. l is all a vertical transverse section taken througfli vtheright side; of Figa-2; Fig. 5 is a typical cross-section; and Fig. 6 isa diagrammatic `View of the Wiring arrangement.`

The invention. includes a novel kindA of illuminated charmer, which maybe a let ter, figure, symbol or the like, and which is assembled 'withother characters of like con-y st'nict'ion to produce a sign of anydesired 'lettering'. These sign elements are designated 10 in theseveral views, and it will be, understood that their construction 1ssub-- stantially alike though their'iorms naturally Eacheleinentcomprises a channeled body A 11, mounted on an individual base 12, whichvlill enables it to be assembled side by side with other elements on asuitable common support, such as 13, to forni the sign. The body l1corresponds both in outline-and in its channeling to the lettenor othercharacter which it scn'ts; "and lthe marginal walls 15 are preler rowwith respect to the face ci? sign, so

' Specification of Letters Patent.

`bly comparatively nan that tliebodjiconstitutes in ellect an outlinecharacter, wlthin which are located sepa- Serial No, 777,146.

mounted in and substantially flush withpthe back wall 18 of the frontchannel; and the lamps are largely or entirely included withn in thefront lines of the body, so that the through the loops of the letter Bfor example, are enti-rely without illumination, and their blacknesscontrasting With the sharply illuminated characters renders the signespecially readable. yThe effectiveness acute angle, or almost parallelto its face, -the several characters are distinct'and do not blur. y l

As shown, the character is hollow the back, as Well as at the front; andthi/back channel 2() is utilized for housing'an pro tecting therearwardly-projecting sockets 17 and the connections 21 leading thereto.The body of the character thus consists in eti'ect of marginal flanges15, 22 and a septum Wall 18, which form the front and back channels andpresent a characteristic H-shaped section, as shown in Fig. 5. l. 1

When the character is completed the rearwardly-projccting sockets andthe wires are channel', preferably flush with the rear edges back, whichmay' be'coated With paint or enamel or otherwise nished. The Wires 21pass into the back channel from the base through o enings 24 in theflange portion 22 at the ottoni of the body, and at their outer ends are.connected tothe upper .ends of posts 29, which pass through the basebehind the character. The upper yends of connected thereto are `reerablydisposed in Patented Mar. 3l, llr

rate, dwarf incandescent electric lamps 145.v lhelattcr are -held insuitable sockets 17 depth of 'the channeling is such that the' laterallight rays` are cut ott, and hencethey spaces between the letters' andthe spaceswlthin the letters, such as the openings of the sign isincreased byA coating the sur that even when the sign is Viewed at anlof the flanges 22, so as to present a planek these Lkposts andtheportions of thewires a groove, which may e closed in a suitable'v stillfurther protected by an insulating ce-. ment or mass 23, which is lledinto the back ilo manner. The Wiring is such that the several lamps ofeach letter are connected in series. In order that the destruction ofone lamp may not extinguish the Whol'e series, I mount supplementaryresistances 27 on the base, one of these resistances being connectcd inshunt with' each'llamp, as indicated in the diagrammatic view, Fig. 6,so that, if a lamp breaks, the current to supply the remainder can stillpass by Way of itsshunt. An advantageous construction is obtained bydisposing these rsistances transversely of the bottom of the base7 Wherethey are held in suitable 1grooves 28 with their ends secured to thelower ends of the posts 29. The supplementary resistances areproportioned so that a suitable amount of current flows through themnormally, and in eventl in parallel circuits as preferred.

It will be observed that the sign 4as assembled is of an open character,which is anv advantage because in daylight it dce-s not constitute anobstruction in a show window.

`While I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention withconsiderableparticularity, it will be understood that the f constructionand'arirangement of Wiring are susceptible ofwarlation Without departingfrom the scope` of the invention as defined by the claim.'

What I claim as new is: l

An electric sign element comprising a body'mounted on a base, said bodyin the form of a character and having marginal flanges and a septum wallconstituting channels both at the front and back, lamp sock- 'etsmounted in the septum Wall and projecting rearward into the backchannel, connections passing from the base through openings in thebottom fianges into the back channel, and insulating material fillingthe back channel and in which said sockets and -l connections areembedded.

In witness whereof, I have lhereunto set my hand this 30th day of June,1 913.

HARVEY DESCHERE.

In presence of- Gr. EMPEY, CLARENCE Gr. GALs'roN.

